Knockdown chair



United States Patent Ofiice;

KNOCKDOWN CHAIR Robert H. Monroe, East Orange, N.J., Marvin K. Culbreth, Wilton, Conn., and Charles P. Molla, Old Westbury, N.Y., assignors to Molla Incorporated, Westbury, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application November 21, 1957, Serial No. 697,998

3 Claims. (Cl. 155-194) This invention relates to knockdown funiture, particularly in the construction of chairs, settees or the like employing a seat frame and detachable leg and back rest parts. More particularly, the invention deals with furniture of this type and kind, wherein the leg, back rest and arms are formed from cast aluminum parts detachably coupled with the seat frame and with each other in forming the resulting furniture.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from the following description, when taken to gether with the accompanying drawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosed and, in which, the separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view diagrammatically illustrating a one armed chair made according to our invention, with only parts of the seat frame being shown.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on the line 44 of Fig. 1.

In the construction of furniture, it has been 'a common practice to provide a combination of sheet metal and wrought iron in the formation of a chair, settee or the like or to produce structures of this type and kind of all cast aluminum. Our present invention deals with the construction of furniture of the type and kind under consideration by utilizing the sheet metal seat frame, in conjunction with which cast aluminum units are employed in forming the legs, armrests and back rest of the resulting chair or settee.

In the present illustration, the same has been limited to the showing of a chair with a single arm which would be part of an assemblage in forming a two or three seat settee and, in these combinations, the other outer part of the settee would have a left arm, employed in conjunction with the right arm support, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

It will also be understood that chairs or settee parts of the kind under consideration may have no arms, or the chair may have both left and right arm supports, as is common with other furniture of this type and kind.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing, represents a rectangular seat frame which is angleiron or L-shaped in cross-sectional form or, in other words, defined by a bottom horizontal rail 11 and an upstanding rail 12. The front and rear bottom rails are joined by a plurality of yieldable metal straps, part only of which are diagrammatically illustrated at 13, these straps forming the supporting surface for upholstery or cushions arranged in the seat frame, the latter being omitted as they form no part of the present invention.

Detachably coupled with the lower rails 11 of the frame 10 is a short cast aluminum front leg 14, a combination cast aluminum front leg and armrest unit 15 and left and right rear leg and back rest supporting units 16, 16', the units 16, 16 being of identical structure, except being 2,882,958 Patented Apr. 21, 1959 made lefts and rights; thus, the brief description of one unit will apply to both. i

' At 17 is shown a cast aluminum back rest supported in connection with the upper back rest supporting ends 18 of the units 16, 16'. The supports 18 have inwardly projecting apertured lugs 19 substantially midway of their height and near the upper ends thereof for receiving bolts 20 passing through apertures 21 at terminal ends of the upper and lower rails 22 of the back rest 17.

The rails 22 are joined and braced by a cross-frame 23, comprising diagonally arranged members 24 intersecting centrally of the back rest, as at 25, the members 24 being generally of the contour illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

In alinement with the lower lugs 19, the members 18 have other inwardly projecting apertured lugs 26, one of which is shown, in section, in Fig. 4 of the drawing for receiving bolts 27 passed through apertures 28 at the rear ends of armrest portions 29 of the unit 15.

The legs, including the armrest portions, as at 29, are preferably hollowed on inner surfaces and this is illustrated, for example, in the section through the unit 16 in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the hollowed portion being illus- 33 in detachably coupling the units 16, 16' with the frame 10. It will also appear that the upper end of the leg portion proper of the unit 15 has an inwardly extending bracket 34, generally similar to the bracket 35 of the leg 14 and again apertured, similar to the apertures 36 in the bracket 35, to receive bolts 37 in securing the leg 14, as well as the leg unit 15, to the forward portion of the frame 10, or the bottom rail 11 of the frame. It will be apparent that the attachment of the unit 15, as well as the leg 14 of the frame 10, is such as to extend the front of the frame 10 beyond the legs, as is clearly illustrated in the extension 10, noted in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

It will appear that the upper portion of the back rest supports 18 of the units 16, 16 are inclined rearwardly at a point above the location of the lugs 26 in order to provide the proper back rest support in the chair or settee.

It will be apparent that, when the several parts of the chair are knocked down, these parts will be contained substantially within the environment of the frame 10, thus simplifying the packaging of the knocked down parts for storage and shipment.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A knockdown article of furniture of the character described, comprising a rectangular seat frame, having front, back and side members, cast aluminum front legs including brackets having longitudinally alined apertures for detachable coupling with the side members of the seat frame rearwardly of and in spaced relation to the front member thereof, cast aluminum rear leg units including inwardly projecting apertured brackets for de tachably coupling the rear leg units with the side and back members of the seat frame, the rear leg units including integrally upwardly extending backrest supporting portions extending to the upper end of the furniture back, each backrest supporting portion having vertically spaced lower and upper apertured lugs arranged centrally and at the upper end of said backrest supporting portion, a cast aluminum unitary backrest frame arranged at the upper portion of the backrest supporting portions and detachably coupled with said lugs, and said backrest frame comprising. upper and lower rails,v and cross-rails intersecting substantially centrally of the backrest.

2. An. article 013 funniturei as definedt in claim 1, wherein, at least one of said front legs includes an integral armrest supporting portion, and: means.- for securing: the rear end of the armrest: supporting portion with the backrest supporting portion in horizontal alinernent with the lower apertured mg of. the alined rear leg unit.

3. An article 015 furniture as defined in claim 1,. wherein; that part of the rear leg= units above the lower apertured.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 163,449 Eiseman May 29, 1951 1,580,522 Murray Apr. 13, 1926 1,910,336 Holistetter et a1. May 23, 1933 2,437,303 Molla Mar. 9, 1948 2,487,304 Molla Mar. 9, 1948 Rocker et a1; Dec. 10, 1957 

